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Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications

Vale to create a new open-pit mine in Sudbury – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – July 18, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Stobie project is expected to cost $205 million over the next four years and could be a model for future projects in the basin

Vale Base Metals has announced it is going to rejuvenate the historic Stobie Mine property with the creation of a new open pit mine. And the work will be carried out using several local contractors who will employ USW Local 6500 members to carry out the work.

Gord Gilpin, director of Ontario Operations for Vale Base Metals, said the new mine will be a significant four-year project carried out at a cost of more than $200 million.

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Hearst-area graphite deposit holder gets excited about mining – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 17, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Zentek produces ultra-high 99.9 per cent result from new purification process

A new refining process has reinvigorated Zentek’s interest in mining and processing graphite at its Albany project in the Hearst area. The Guelph technology company said it’s produced an ultra-high purified result of 99.99915 per cent that was taken from a sample extracted from the Northern Ontario graphite deposit, near Constance Lake First Nation.

Zentek reported July 17 that the “five nines” purity material was achieved from a specialized graphite purification process using a 100-gram sample taken from Albany and used during pilot plant trials back in 2017.

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Wawa gold explorer ready to move beyond assay tampering scandal – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 12, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Red Pine Exploration resets Wawa Gold Project with a clean assay database, new CEO, and hopes for an underground mine

After a drill data tampering scandal in May, Red Pine Exploration said it’s scrubbed its assay library clean and is ready to move on with new CEO to steer its Wawa Gold Project. The Toronto junior miner endured a harrowing two months when it retracted years of reported drill results, dating back to Red Pine’s acquisition of the project in 2014.

The company points the finger of blame at former CEO Quentin Yarie for having selectively altered results coming back from the assay lab, recording them as higher grade than they actually were, and then filing them into the company’s drill database.

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Canada is struggling to complete large natural resources projects, says C.D. Howe report – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 4, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Report says governments need to make timely permit approvals, respect division of powers, to encourage investment

Canada’s permitting delays and regulatory uncertainty is a cooler when it comes to attracting investment in major infrastructure projects.

“Canada’s current regulatory permitting system is slow, subject to seemingly random process and policy changes and deters potential investors,” summarized a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute entitled, “Smoothing the Path: How Canada Can Make Faster Major Project Decisions,” co-authored by Charles DeLand and Brad Gilmour.

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Ekati boss envisions another 25 years of mining – by Derek Neary (NNSL.com – July 4, 2024)

https://www.nnsl.com/

Agnico Eagle hits new marks at Meliadine and Meadowbank

The Northwest Territories’ economy continues to lean heavily on diamond production, which is waning overall, and, to a lesser extent, rare earths. In Nunavut, gold and iron ore are the backbone of GDP. Here are some noteworthy occurrences from operating mining companies in both territories.

Burgundy Diamond Mines

Burgundy Diamond Mines, owner of Ekati, reported a major jump in carats sold in its first quarter report for 2024. Its 1.32 million carats sold played a central part in the $117 million (U.S.) in revenues generated for the quarter. The total yield was 1.15 million carats, down from 1.18 million a year earlier.

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Marathon mine developer eyes 2025 construction start – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 4, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Generation Mining focusing on copper amid permitting delays, hunt to secure project financing

Generation Mining president-CEO Jamie Levy wants to assure all that the Marathon palladium-copper mine will get built. Ever since the Toronto junior miner first appeared on the north shore of Lake Superior in 2019, the company has been a press release-generating machine with its ambitious plans for an open-pit operation.

But in recent months, there’s been a lull in news flow that’s prompted a few concerned investors to ask Levy if the project is stalled.

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Community support is vital, Frontier Lithium official says – by Mike Stimpson (Northern Ontario Business – June 28, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Company reps engaging communities on details of lithium project north of Red Lake

Community consultation is a key part of Frontier Lithium’s big project in northwestern Ontario, a spokesperson for the Sudbury-headquartered mining company said June 27.

“We actually have been really out there in communities, ramping up our engagement and consultation and information sharing about the project over the last six months,” Clara Lauziere, Frontier’s sustainability director, told Dougall Media.

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Effort to ban nickel sales to Israel has pacifist intentions – by Tyler Clarke (Sudbury.com – June 29, 2024)

https://www.sudbury.com/

Retired Cambrian College mathematics instructor and longtime peace advocate David Starbuck is behind a petition which aims to ban the sale of Canadian nickel to Israel

Condemning the State of Israel’s sustained bombardment of Gaza, local man David Starbuck helped launch a federal petition to ban the sale of Canadian nickel to Israel. Nickel, he clarified in conversation with Sudbury.com, is used in armaments.

Through the local mining of nickel, there’s no telling how much the Greater Sudbury area has inadvertently aided in Israel’s “unrelenting Israeli assault on occupied Gaza,” as United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese put it earlier this year in finding reasonable grounds to determine Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

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A tale of two territorial economies: Generator versus stabilizer – by Derek Neary (NNSL.com – June 27, 2024)

https://www.nnsl.com/

Nunavut’s qamutik hitched to growing mining revenues; NWT accentuates upside of big government

The tale of two territories remains divergent. Nunavut’s 3.4 per cent growth in gross domestic product in 2023 was the strongest in the country, according to initial data from Statistics Canada in May.

The usual players were front and centre. Mining’s share of Nunavut’s GDP continues to expand, reaching a record high 46.7 per cent in 2023, up significantly from 28.5 per cent in 2019. All of that gold and iron extraction — and the related spin offs — represented $1.37 billion for the economy last year, a slight increase from $1.33 billion in 2022.

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Northwest lithium project has opposition – by Mike Stimpson NWO News Watch – June 26, 2024)

https://www.nwonewswatch.com/

An online petition started by a Sandy Lake First Nation member has collected more than 12,000 signatures as of June 26.

SANDY LAKE – An online petition against Frontier Lithium’s PAK Project is nearing its goal of 15,000 signatures, but Gary Mamagesic likely won’t be adding his name to the list.

Not that the Sandy Lake First Nation member thinks open-pit lithium extraction south of his community is a good idea. Mamagesic said he grew up in Red Lake, where his father worked at an open-pit mine, so he has seen the ugliness of open-pit mining. Then there are his concerns about environmental impacts.

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Sandy Lake celebrates the arrival of power and light – by Mike Stimpson (NWO News Watch – June 24, 2024)

https://www.nwonewswatch.com/

The remote First Nation now has reliable electricity, thanks to the Wataynikaneyap Power line.

SANDY LAKE – Another First Nation celebrated Wataynikaneyap Power “bringing the light” on Friday, National Indigenous Peoples Day. “The Wataynikaneyap Power transmission system means more than reliable electricity for the community,” Sandy Lake Chief Delores Kakegamic said.

“It means we can build new homes and buildings, such as our new health centre, and connect them to power. It means we will no longer need to react, almost daily, to power outages.”

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Northwest mine developer settles dispute with First Nation neighbour – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – June 21, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Cat Lake First Nation accepts government proposal on access road to First Mining Gold’s Springpole Project

First Mining Gold said a resolution has been reached with Cat Lake First Nation involving a disputed temporary access road to the gold company’s exploration camp in northwestern Ontario that halted construction last winter.

In a June 20 news release, the Vancouver company said Cat Lake accepted a settlement offer on June 17 on a proposal from the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), thus ending a judicial review process.

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Opinion: B.C.’s mining sector is at risk of losing jobs, investments and multi-generational opportunities – by Keerit Jutla (Business in Vancouver – June 24, 2024)

https://www.biv.com/

Keerit Jutla is president and CEO of the Association for Mineral Exploration.

Exploration is the lifeblood of the mining sector, a precursor to discovery and development that has historically propelled B.C.’s economy forward. It’s a catalyst for innovation, job creation and economic diversification.

Each year, exploration contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to B.C.’s economy and supports thousands of direct and indirect jobs. This is not just about economics—it’s about securing a sustainable future for generations to come.

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Agnico Eagle looks underground at Detour Lake pit – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – June 20, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Agnico Eagle sizes up $1-billion investment to construct underground exploration ramp, expand mill production

Agnico Eagle is on a path to upsize its Detour Lake mine, near the Quebec border, into a one-million-ounce per year gold producer.

The Toronto gold company has posted a preliminary economic assessment and a new mine plan that involves digging beneath its current open-pit operation to tap into a “high-grade core of mineralization” and follow a gold system that tracks west on its property.

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Ring of Fire roads inch closer as four First Nations sign deals with Ontario – by Jack Hauen (The Trillium – June 20,2024)

https://www.thetrillium.ca/

Roads far south of mineral deposits to be improved by First Nations workers starting this year, Ford said

Four First Nations have signed an agreement with the province to improve roads from their communities to the provincial highway network — part of the Ford government’s plan to unlock key mineral deposits in Ontario’s north.

Premier Doug Ford announced deals on Tuesday with Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek, Aroland First Nation, Ginoogaming First Nation and Long Lake #58 First Nation that will see Ontario improve all-season roads that connect the communities to the provincial road network and add money for training and infrastructure.

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